Battered by unemployment and tighter lending standards, the credit scores of millions of Americans are sinking to new lows.

About 25.5% of consumers — or 43.4 million people — had credit scores below 600 in April, according to FICO Inc. Historically, only about 15% of consumers — or 25.5 million — have had scores below that level, FICO said.

Its not just those at the lower end. The middle tier has also been significantly impacted:

Those in the middle of the spectrum have also declined. Moderate credit scores, between 650 and 699, fell to 11.9% from a historical average of 15%.

One the other hand:

On a bright note, the percentage of consumers with high scores of 800 or above has risen. Those with pristine records are at 17.9%, well above the historical average of 13%, although slightly down from the 18.7% in April 2008.

This is most likely due to the fact that these people are shedding debt and still their have jobs. The latter being the most important.